FLORAfEnglish, German, Italian, Roman MythologyDerived from Latin flos meaning "flower". Flora was the Roman goddess of flowers and spring, the wife of Zephyr the west wind. It has been used as a given name since the Renaissance, starting in France. In Scotland it was sometimes used as an Anglicized form of Fionnghuala.

FREYAfNorse Mythology, English (British, Modern), GermanFrom Old Norse Freyja meaning "lady". This was the name of the goddess of love, beauty, war and death in Norse mythology. She claimed half of the heroes who were slain in battle and brought them to her realm of Fólkvangr. Along with her brother Freyr and father Njord, she was one of the Vanir (as opposed to the Æsir). Some scholars connect her with the goddess Frigg.... [more]

FRIDAfSwedish, Norwegian, Danish, Ancient GermanicGermanic name, originally a short form of other feminine names containing the Germanic element frid meaning "peace". This is also the Scandinavian equivalent, from the Old Norse cognate Fríða. A famous bearer was Mexican painter Frida Kahlo (1907-1954).

FRIGGfNorse MythologyMeans "beloved" in Old Norse, ultimately derived from Indo-European *pri "to love". In Norse mythology she was the goddess of the earth, air and fertility, and the wife of Odin. Some scholars believe that she and the goddess Freya share a common origin.

GRACEfEnglishFrom the English word grace, which ultimately derives from Latin gratia. This was one of the virtue names created in the 17th century by the Puritans. The actress Grace Kelly (1929-1982) was a famous bearer.

GYTHAfEnglish (Archaic)From Gyða, an Old Norse diminutive of GUÐRÍÐR. It was borne by a Danish noblewoman who married the English lord Godwin of Wessex in the 11th century. The name was used in England for a short time after that, and was revived in the 19th century.

HAGARfBiblical, Biblical HebrewPossibly means "flight" in Hebrew, though it could also be of unknown Egyptian origin. In the Old Testament she is the concubine of Abraham and the mother of Ishmael, the founder of the Arab people. After Abraham's wife Sarah finally gave birth to a child, she had Hagar and Ishmael expelled into the desert. However, God heard their crying and saved them.

HALLE (2)fEnglish (Modern)In the case of American actress Halle Berry (1966-), it is from the name of a department store in Cleveland where she was born (the store was founded by brothers bearing the German surname Halle, a cognate of HALL).

HEIDIfGerman, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, EnglishGerman diminutive of ADELHEID. This is the name of the title character in the children's novel 'Heidi' (1880) by Johanna Spyri. The name began to be used in the English-speaking world shortly after the 1937 release of the movie adaptation, which starred Shirley Temple.

HELLE (2)fGreek MythologyMeaning unknown. In Greek mythology Helle was the daughter of Athamus and Nephele. She and her brother Phrixus escaped sacrifice by fleeing on the back of a golden ram, but during their flight she fell off and drowned in the strait that connects the Aegean Sea with the Sea of Marmara, which was thereafter called the Hellespont ("the sea of Helle").

HYEONm & fKoreanFrom Sino-Korean 賢 (hyeon) meaning "virtuous, worthy, able" or other characters which are pronounced similarly. It usually occurs in combination with another character, though it is sometimes used as a stand-alone name.

IDOYAfSpanishFrom the Spanish place name Idoia, possibly meaning "pond" in Basque, an important place of worship of the Virgin Mary.

IDRILfLiteratureMeans "sparkle brilliance" in Sindarin. In the 'Silmarillion' (1977) by J. R. R. Tolkien, Idril was the daughter of Turgon, the king of Gondolin. She escaped the destruction of that place with her husband Tuor and sailed with him into the west.

INDIAfEnglishFrom the name of the country, which is itself derived from the name of the Indus River. The river's name is ultimately from Sanskrit सिन्धु (Sindhu) meaning "body of trembling water, river".

ISCAHfBiblicalFrom the Hebrew name יִסְכָּה (Yiskah) which meant "to behold". In the Old Testament this is the name of Abraham's niece, mentioned only briefly. This is the basis of the English name Jessica.

JADENm & fEnglish (Modern)An invented name, using the popular aden suffix sound found in such names as Braden, Hayden and Aidan. This name first became common in American in the 1990s when similar-sounding names were increasing in popularity. It is sometimes considered a variant of JADON.

JAIME (2)fEnglishVariant of JAMIE. The character Jaime Sommers from the television series 'The Bionic Woman' (1976-1978) helped to popularize the name. It can sometimes be given in reference to the French phrase j'aime meaning "I love", though it is pronounced differently.

JEONGf & mKoreanFrom Sino-Korean 靜 (jeong) meaning "quiet, still, gentle" or 貞 (jeong) meaning "virtuous, chaste, loyal", as well as other characters which are pronounced similarly. It usually occurs in combination with another character, though it is sometimes used as a stand-alone name.

JEWELf & mEnglishIn part from the English word jewel, a precious stone, derived from Old French jouel, which was possibly related to jeu "game". It is also in part from the surname Jewel or Jewell (a derivative of the Breton name JUDICAËL), which was sometimes used in honour of the 16th-century bishop of Salisbury John Jewel. It has been in use as a given name since the 19th century.

JIANGm & fChineseFrom Chinese 江 (jiāng) meaning "river, Yangtze", as well as other characters with a similar pronunciation.

JI-HYEfKoreanFrom a Sino-Korean compound meaning "wisdom", formed of the hanja characters 智 (ji) meaning "wisdom, intellect" and 慧 (hye) meaning "bright, intelligent". This name can also be formed from other character combinations.